Temporary Bliss
by peach.starfish
Summary: "You deserve more than a girl who purposely tried to jump from a hotel rooftop and run away from her own home—you deserve more than a girl like me." She had nothing; she caused chaos wherever she went and thought she was undeniably valueless to society, yet Natsume still couldn't figure what it was about her that he loved so much. [AU] #1
1. Chapter 1

**Temporary Bliss**

**Summary:** "You deserve more than a girl who purposely tried to jump from a hotel rooftop and run away from her own home—you deserve more than a girl like _me_." She had nothing; she caused chaos wherever she went and thought she was undeniably valueless to society, yet Natsume still couldn't figure what it was about her that he loved so much.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Gakuen Alice or the characters.

**Warning:** Language and violence involved.

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"Reo, don't you dare lay a finger on Mikan!" her mother ordered, voice faltering in hesitation. She didn't usually stand up to Reo, oh no, he was_ far_ too frightening in his bad moods for anyone to even come close to him. "Or I-I'll… I'll call the police!" she wavered nervously, eyes darting around for something to use against him.

The thin walls let Mikan hear the violent racket of noise her stepfather was making through the adjacent room to hers. Like always, he was presumably drunk meaning he would cause uproar, become abusive and raise the volume of his voice as high as he could, not caring about the warnings given from the neighbours or police.

He trailed her movements, watching her walk back in panic. Reo just laughed at her effort.

"Are you actually telling _me_ what to do?" he chuckled, until the corners of his mouth drooped to show an emotionless face of expression. "Yuka, are you actually trying to fight _back_? And call the police, you say?" he tilted his head upwards, letting a roar of laughter out of his mouth and shook his head. "Well guess what? They're not going to do anything. Remember that woman across the road who was abused by her husband and when she told the police, they didn't believe her? Yeah, exactly. Next thing you know, they both disappeared. No traces of her left when she was gone."

Mikan struggled to keep the voices away from her ears and no matter how hard the clammy palms of her hand pressed again her ear lobes, the voices would just come ringing back. Reo's devilish laugh continuously rang in her brain like an annoying ringtone and his tone of voice just irritated Mikan so much; he spoke so dryly and directly said things to mock others.

Despite speaking so sarcastically, he had this way of speech that felt threatening like you were automatically forced to obey his commands. He would stop talking with a grin upon his face, his voice would grow deeper and somewhat quieter too, mumbling and forcing emphasis on every single word.

If she could, the brunette would fling open her bedroom doors, rescue Yuka out of the hands of her stepfather and they would just live somewhere else, peacefully and quietly. It wasn't that easy.

In fact, the idea was so tempting that they had already tried running away. It sounded like such a perfect idea and plan the moment they had conjured the idea up in their brains and it was going to be like a perfect Disney movie where the princess lived happily ever after, but things worked out differently. Reo knew about Yuka's every movement. He found her to be too predictable sometimes and she was so easy to track, it was like she was purposely leading him out of a different town just to waste his time.

Mikan forced herself to open her eyes, not noticing her position. She sat at her desk with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head buried in them as well, her usual position after her one of her stepfather's drunken chaos breakouts. When she was little, Mikan would become so terrified of his voice and what he'd do to Yuka that she'd curl up in to a little ball under her bed and just pray that he wouldn't enter her room, searching for her presence. She just couldn't stand facing that fact that he was hurting her own _mother_.

It was indescribable how much she wanted to help her mother fight off the damn man, but her conscience told her to do otherwise as it would only result in a bigger fight and would get Yuka in danger.

Every night when she would curl against the wall on her bed like a Woodlouse, Mikan felt like she was thirteen again. She'd be so afraid of going near Reo that she'd just stay in her room for what felt like eternity and wouldn't come out again until he left to go away with his stupid 'friends'.

"Reo, I have had _enough_—" Yuka began to speak out, only to be interrupted by another roar of laughter coming from the stepfather.

"Have you not realised how many times you've repeated yourself by saying that, Yuka?" he remarked with a smug smirk broadened across his face. "You're so boring now. I don't like boring people." It was so easy for him to belittle others like that. He would act high and mighty, like he was the king of it all and if anyone tried to stand in his way, he would throw him or her away in to the corner like they were a piece of trash.

Curling a finger around a strand of Yuka's hair, Reo sighed pessimistically. "You used to be so fun, during the beginning of our marriage and before it, too. Do you not remember? We would sneak out, be a little wild, have fun; now you don't do any of that anymore," his fingers released themselves from the ends of Yuka's hair, expression darkening. "And it's all because of that wretched child of yours," he spat, mumbling the words quietly.

"That 'child' is not a kid—she's seventeen-years old and secondly, have you not forgotten that she's your responsibility too?" Reo didn't know what to say. He was so disgusted at the fact Yuka was even continuing the topic of Mikan, that he turned his head away from her, watching the actions of other people through the glass window. "Reo, it wasn't just because of Mikan that I changed. Face it, we've both grown up, we're not going to act like teenager for the whole of our lives, although you certainly are acting like it!"

Mikan was wrong to take her hands away from her ears immediately after that moment. The only sound around the house that the brunette heard, was not the voices of their talking, but the harsh echo of the slap across the face that Yuka had received from Reo. Hand slowly caressing the side of her face where she was hit, the mother felt herself kneeling down on to the floor with tears drowning out the sounds of Reo's talking.

"You pathetic woman, don't you dare talk to me like that again!" he threateningly spattered with eyes filled with rage. Reo's breath caught in her throat, Yuka struggled to inhale with the tears causing her to choke. She wanted to spit out the words she wished to say but everything in that moment seemed to stop her, her choking throat, the words that would not come out properly and her confidence that had plummeted.

It wasn't the first time that Reo had hit her, in fact, she hated to say but it wasn't much of a surprise when he did. His rage and anger seemed to get the better of him because deep down, Yuka was sure that wasn't the Reo that she knew to be sweet, lovingly guy that took care of her after Izumi died.

After just one day, however, everything changed. Yuka unknowingly found a stash of hidden alcohol, and began to question him about it; that was the first time Reo had ever hit Yuka. Mikan hadn't been born yet, but she knew all about what happened after her mother told her. After a week of drinking, Reo began becoming involved in people and places the mother wouldn't have even thought of, because it was so unexpected. Things changed in such a short period. After Mikan being born, he stopped talking to Yuka as much as he did before, even when he drank and whenever Reo would go out god-knows-where, Yuka would lay in her bed and… think.

She would just think about all the things that she had done to cause him to change so drastically. Every night, Yuka would make a list in her head and pour negative thoughts in her mind, until she felt like she couldn't cope and feel depressed. After a while of bottling the suicidal thoughts, lack of motivation in her life and constant low moods, Yuka forced herself to go to the doctors and told that she was clinically depressed and that was when she just broke down.

It was unexpected but… Mikan saved her. Yuka found it difficult knowing that Mikan had no idea what she was talking about when she told her about her situation and attempted to comfort herself by talking to her daughter, it was no use. She wanted words, advice that could help her but Mikan couldn't give her any of that because she was at such a young age that made it difficult for her to understand. However, what Mikan could do that no one else could, was make Yuka laugh.

Despite leaving the stages of depression, Yuka found things to become even more difficult as Reo would constantly come back home with bloodshot eyes and a funny slur of speech when he talked. Yuka just couldn't understand how or why Reo could afford all of the drinks night by night as money was tight enough as it was, but he began to stretch it even more as every day passed. He'd come home drunk with an excuse for his pathetic drinking habits. It was still a mystery of how he got hold of so much alcohol in just one night when truth be told, they were all still struggling financially, though Mikan and Yuka knew it was because of the stepfather's expenses over whatever the hell he got high or drunk on.

Mikan was still scared of him, she couldn't lie, but she wasn't scared of him as much as she used to be when she was small. She dreaded his presence. The stages of her adulthood became closer, and Mikan noticed herself growing out of that terror as she matured but some of the fragments of fear remained with her.

Footsteps stomped across the hall as a door slammed open, revealing Mikan who was stretched across her bed, staring at her creamy-white painted walls.

"What do you want, Reo?" she spoke, hiding the slight side of panic that she hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Get Yuka out of the fucking hallway, that's what I want," he ordered, taking steps closer to the bed. Mikan stayed put, not moving an inch. "Did you not hear me or are you just deaf? I want you to get that damn bitch out of the hall until I destroy everything you own!" The brunette flinched at hearing her mum being called a 'bitch'. She watched him knock everything off her shelves and smash her ornaments against the wall, movements swaying slightly from being a drunken mess.

Picking herself up, Mikan ran out of her room to face her mother out in the hallway, head against her lap as she kneeled down, somewhat resembling a ball.

"Mum, please get up, it's alright. He's in my room, so you can go back and have a rest. I'll finish dinner, okay?" Mikan comforted Yuka, tucking a lock of her mother's soft, chestnut-coloured hair behind her ear. Desperately, Yuka clung on to Mikan, tears running down her cheek endlessly. "It's okay, it's okay now…" she muttered quietly with arms wrapped around Yuka's timid body that continued to grow skinnier by day from being so malnourished.

"Mikan, where did I go wrong?" Yuka quietly asked her daughter, almost choking on her own saliva. Her words came out unclear, but Mikan could just about make out what she was saying. "Where did I go wrong? I thought everything was going to be perfect after I married him, but—" Mikan put a hand to Yuka's mouth, stopping her from saying anything else.

"Shh, mum, don't say anymore. You're only going to cause yourself to continue to cry," the young brunette spoke, stroking Yuka's hair with back and forth motions like she was _her_ daughter. "Things will get better, I know it will."

"Mikan, I asked you to get her out of the fucking hallway, not sit down and have some sort of mother-daughter comfort session!" Reo barked furiously, grabbing Mikan's wrist and pulling on it harder and trying to shove her away from Yuka.

"You've done enough, Reo, just leave us alone!" Mikan shouted with her arms tightly embracing her mother's back.

Reo smirked, leaving a smaller gap between his and Mikan's face as he watched her turn her head around her shoulder. The aroma of the stinking alcohol caught his breath as he hiccupped violently. Mikan felt like being _sick_. "Lookie here… I'm not going to tolerate you being so rude like that, so just shut your trap and learn to fucking listen to me," Reo slurred, forcefully spitting his words out as the tingle of vodka remained at the back of his throat. "This is my house so you have to abide my rules, not your own you dumb whore!"

Mikan could_ not_ stand Reo's unnecessary cursing.

"You can't make me do anything you like; I'm not your puppet!" Mikan shouted, struggling to hold the sting in her eyes that were ready to spill the tears from her eyes, but that'd make her look feeble, incredibly weak. She was the so-called 'strong' one of her household, and she had to keep up that image if she wanted to keep Reo away.

"_Fine_," Reo mumbled, fists curling in to clenched balls. Mikan growled at the sight of his greasy, rust-coloured hair that drooped in face and his lifeless eggplant-like eyes that watched like she was a prey. "Fine, do whatever the fuck you want!" he yelled, grabbing hold of his coat and fiercely kicking Yuka aside with his shoe to get to the door. "I'm going out, not that I need to tell either of you. Oh and don't either of you even think about taking a step outside this house because I know exactly where both of you will go," Reo threatened one last time before a massive thud echoed across the hall and the two finally felt at peace, with him gone.

"Oh, Mikan…" Yuka quietly muttered, voice faltering as she wiped away the damp surface of her cheek and breathed in heavily. "Mikan, oh Mikan, what have I done? This is my entire fault, isn't it?" she questioned, her sweaty palms hiding her eyes.

"No! Don't think like that, please. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I shouldn't have disobeyed him so easily like that, I wasn't thinking and just trying to be brave, when I'm really not," Mikan confessed, helping her mother stand up as they both made their different ways, Mikan to the shower and Yuka to her bedroom.

Steadily removing the pieces of clothes still on her body, Mikan entered the shower and felt warmth as the first droplet of water touched the surface of her skin. She felt her heart pound as her eyes darted to the bruises around her body, mainly around her wrist where Reo would often grab it too violently. His nails would often dig in to the surface of her skin, piercing her wrist as tightly as he could and sometimes—only sometimes—the scarlet-coloured blood would seep from the layer of skin from the rigidity of his grip.

Not that it mattered. It wasn't a big deal. So what if she had a couple of bruises and cuts? It didn't make any weaker or stronger than anyone else.

Tilting her head upwards, Mikan ran a hand through the tangled strands of her greasy, chestnut-brown hair and warmed her loofah, letting the hot temperature of water sink through the material and doused it with soap. She softly scrubbed her body free of any dirt and ran the loofah over her bruises gently, cautious of the pain it would bring her if she ran over it too aggressively.

They would eventually disappear, but it was hard to swallow the sickening realisation that the memory of Reo pounding her against the wall or digging his fingers in to her wrists forcefully wouldn't disappear as easily as she'd want them to. Though she was fortunate enough not to have an abused childhood because of her protective mother, she found herself targeted more by the stepfather the more she grew older as Yuka grew weaker by age.

Stepping out of the water in a rush, the towel embraced Mikan's petite build as she dried her legs, stomach and neck in haste. She slid on her underwear, white tank top and black skinny jeans and walked straight to her bedroom, pressing her back against the concrete block wall.

She was so fed up. Fed up of faking a smile at school and pretending like everything at home is okay in front of the teachers, never being able to bring her friends to her home in case Reo tried to hurt them or their secret became revealed and fed up of being so weak in front of the man she hated most in the world.

Mikan had dreams too, not like they could never be accomplished as long as he was still in her life. She wanted to travel the world, see new things and people instead of people locked in a house for her entire life. She wanted to be a photographer so she could see the world, see places she had never before and let Yuka see them too. Her mum was the only thing she had in the world, and Mikan wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon.

Men were worthless; she was _never _going to get a husband.

Eyes darting over to the window, Mikan watched the sunset be surrounded by the hues of colour, arrays of pink, purple and oranges all encircling the sphere to softly shape of the sun drowning under the border of horizon. She hadn't enjoyed a moment like this for a while, her emotions softening after looking at such a beautiful scene.

"Mikan?"

The brunette shut her window, head whipping around.

"It's alright, it's only me," Yuka smiled, a hand extending out to reach Mikan's shoulder. Hair dripping with water, Yuka grabbed the nearest towel she could find and gingerly wrapped it around Mikan's head, the corners of her mouth curved in to a small smile. "Mikan, I… I've been thinking about this for a while and I've finally come to a conclusion." Yuka paused her sentence, voice faltering near the end.

"Mum? What's wrong?" Mikan asked, gripping her hand against Yuka's tightly, watching her inhale deeply and trail her eyes down to the wooden floorboards in anxiety. "You're acting weird," the brunette remarked, eager to know what her mum was keeping to herself.

"Mikan, I have a plan. You're going to run away, without me."

A moment of silence between the pair, before Mikan opened her mouth to protest and shout, "No! I'm not going anywhere without you!"

"Yes, Mikan. You can't stay here, especially not with him around."

The brunette's throat felt dry in disbelief. "We already tried running away before, and he knew exactly of our locations, mum. I'm not having him hurt you as badly as he did that night a second time," she refused, eyes not daring to face her mother's as the scarring memories of Reo continuously pummeling Yuka's head against the wall until she apologized the moment they were found.

"Please, just give me a chance on this; I'm not going to be included this time, it will just be you. Reo hardly knows you anyway, there's not a chance of him finding out where you're going to go, believe me. I don't mean to suddenly put your life at risk like this, but this is for your_ future_. You trust me, don't you?" The soft side of Yuka's eyes had vanished. Her eyebrows arched, her mother was being serious. She wasn't joking around anymore.

"Well yeah, I do but—"

"Then believe me, please."

Mikan inhaled deeply, embracing the lack of speech between them. "Let me hear your plan. There is no guarantee I'll agree, but I want to hear it."

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Thanks for reading!

Please review and have a great day. (:


	2. Chapter 2

**Temporary Bliss**

**A/N:** Thank you for those who reviewed, put the story on alert and favs!

Special thanks to: nix, Risdal, AnimeMango, The FourTris, papaya-san and mooshy3712 for reviewing. (:

Your support means a lot to me!

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The vivid memories of Reo's introduction to the family and his stay lingered in Mikan's brain.

It was a clear-skied Monday afternoon. Mikan had been picked up from school by her grandpa, who more than happily watched her at home for the hours that Yuka had to be at work. She worked in an office as a secretary and it sometimes involved coming home a bit later than when Mikan came home from Kindergarten. Money wasn't of scarce, the mum would have no trouble getting a babysitter but Mikan simply preferred having her grandpa, Nonno Sakura, with her than a stranger she didn't know.

"What's that you're drawing, Mikan?" her grandpa asked, resting peacefully on his favourite leather armchair. He watched the brunette's crayon scribble outside of the drawing book lines in content. She was sprawled across the living room floor with her tongue stuck at the side of her mouth, absorbed in to her beloved drawing book that had almost been fully coloured in. "It looks like a beautiful picture, maybe we should ask mummy if we can frame it?"

Mikan took hold of a different coloured crayon, a bright yellow, and pointed directly to the character on her drawing book. "I'm drawing a princess! She's beautifully blonde and has hair—" Mikan's arms stretched down to the floorboards. "—all down to the bottom of her legs. I think putting it in a frame is a good idea, I'm sure mummy would like that. She likes a lot of my drawings," Mikan giggled, her body becoming a bit stiff after reaching down. "Ow, my knees hurt."

Her grandpa just laughed amusedly, watching her loosen her arms in a funny way. "That's because you reached down really far. I think your drawing is very beautiful too, do you want hair like your princess?" he spoke, petting Mikan's head softly.

In objection, Mikan quickly shook her head. "I like my hair, grandpa, my friends say it's pretty and soft and other words that are too long for me to remember," the brunette answered with her eyes gleaming at her own thoughts. "So I think I'd like to be a brown-haired princess, not blonde. Blonde princesses are very pretty but I don't want to change my hair colour, I like it just the way it is."

Before giving another small chuckle, Mikan's grandpa accidently caught his eye at the window. The sun was setting. He quickly checked the clock, shaking his head as it read 7:34, two and a half hours since she was normally due to come home. Not wanting to alarm the easily concerned Mikan, he quietly strode over to the window, eyes scanning past all the cars and figures of people who rode by. It wasn't usually like Yuka to be so rudely late without informing the pair with a phone call, but she normally had a clear reason for her actions so he expected it to be important; perhaps it was due to an unavoidable meeting.

Figures of people paced across the roads: tall, short, slim, muscular, but none of them looking remotely similar to Yuka. Nothing could have happened, right? After all, she was always making sure she took care of herself. The mother had always been best for being independent, even when married to Izumi and continued to keep that characteristic after his death.

"Grandpa, where's mummy? She's late and I'm hungry," Mikan whined, dragging her growling stomach and body to walk in a stroppy fashion, somewhat resembling the hunched back of a zombie. "I'm huu—ungry! I'm hungry!" she repeated.

"Yuka told me she was going to be later than usual when she comes home tonight. Sorry, did I not mention that?" The grandpa lied, swallowing the dry saliva in his throat. Mikan shook her head. "Oh, I see. Well I'm not extraordinaire in cooking, but I'm sure I can whip up some cup noodles. Quick and easy, how does that sound?" he clapped his hands, forcing a smile across his face. Nodding her head, Mikan's frown curved back in to a grin as she curiously watched her grandpa pour the boiling water in two pots of noodles and lay chopsticks on the top of both of them.

As her grandpa cautiously took hold of the two cups of noodles, not wanting them to spill, he sat them at the table with a sparkle in his eyes. He had been quite hungry himself, despite not admitting it. Mikan took strands of the thin noodles and placed them in her mouth, only to be spat right out with her arms frantically moving in the air.

"Hot! Hot! That's _hot_!" she cried, eyes watering. Mikan convulsively backed away from her chair, and jumped on her tiles like it was the surface of hot rocks. "Oh, don't laugh! It really hurt!" Mikan declared as she sat back on the seat and blew the cup of noodles with air in hope that it'd cool down.

Her grandpa attempted to curve the corners of his mouth back to a neutral expression, but failed. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you. It's just that you looked wonderfully interesting when you were jumping up and down on the tiles," he reassured her, letting the warm strings of noodles warm his thought and forget about the frustrating worry about Yuka. "Is it cool enough for you now?"

Mikan nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah! And it tastes reeeal good, grandpa. We should secretly have more of these, because mummy doesn't me like eating cup noodles. She says that they're too unhealthy," she complained with a disheartened face.

"Your mother is right, you know. They are quite unhealthy for a growing girl like you who needs their fruit and vegetables, but having one every once in a while won't hurt you," he advised her, finger occasionally gesturing motions in the air. "If you ask me, I say go for it." They both smiled together, pleased with the dinner they were having. It wasn't much, but having fun in each other's presence was made it more worthwhile and almost made Mikan forget about the sudden disappearance of her mother.

Almost.

With a loud thud, the door slammed open against the concrete wall and bounced back. Just barely avoiding the door crashing in to their faces, Yuka—a very drunk Yuka, I should add—with surprisingly, an uninvited guest tipsily made their way to the kitchen. They hung on to the kitchen door for support from falling over, and released the giggles that they had struggled to hold while standing in front of the cross-armed man in front of them.

"Yuka, I was most certainly not expecting this from you," he spat furiously, approaching his daughter with a crease between his eyebrows. He angled his head to the face Mikan, who didn't have a clue as to what was going on, and softened his expression. "I think it's your bedtime now, don't you agree? Maybe you should get changed in your pyjamas and brush your teeth. I'll be up there too in a little while to read you a story," Grandpa sweetly smiled, kneeling down to pat her on her head as she nodded obediently.

Mikan was completely oblivious to the scene, but was definitely more than suspicious. She was fully aware that her mother was used to not drinking; her automatic response was a clear 'no', because she had adjusted her preferences to also compromise with Mikan's so that she was in a safe environment when Yuka was around. She didn't drink on a regular basis, perhaps a couple of times a year for parties her co-workers held but other than that, she was never known to drink and get terribly drunk after a night's worth of alcohol.

The kid wanted to find out more, and she would.

After walking half way up the steps, Mikan's ears perked up as she hung on to the staircase rails to look down to her disappointed grandpa and mother. She was linking arms with the man who, to be frank, wasn't the slightest bit attractive.

"What's wrong with you today, Yuka?" Grandpa pleaded to know with his head shaking, disapproved. "What caused you to go out and forget you have a _child_?"

"O-Oh yeah…" Yuka giggled like a schoolgirl. "Where_ is_ Mikan? Is she upstairs? I forgot to say goodnight to her!" she slurred with a humorous tone to her voice. "Yeah, Reo, Mikan was the one I was talking about. She's up there, I think. Maybe we should go and see her!" Yuka hiccupped several times mid-sentence. She continued to rock back and forward with 'Reo', attempting to walk forward but failed in doing so as the grandpa moved quickly enough to block them from walking up the staircase.

"No, Yuka. Just_ look_ at yourself, you're drunk as hell." He stopped. "More than you've probably ever been in your life," he breathed in heavily, doing his best not to make eye contact with his shocked daughter. He shrugged off the idea of sending the man, Reo, a dirty scowl before saying, "And I don't know who this is, but I'm most certainly sure that he's passed that stage of being 'just friends' with you." Reo released a roar of laughter, clutching his stomach in hysterics as he simply chose to ignore grandpa's frowns.

"You got that right, ol' man," he spoke with a gruff tone, voice being deep but brusque. The way he spoke reminded Mikan of someone who had a dry throat. "I'm Reo Mori, not that it's any of your business."

Grandpa crumpled his face in disgust, eyeing the man from head to toe. He was wearing the complete opposite of Yuka, ragged denim jeans and a dark-coloured t-shirt with a maroon shaded coat on top. Yuka, meanwhile, stayed smart with her pencil skirt, blazer and slightly unbuttoned blouse (that grandpa glowered at Yuka for) beneath. "Have you forgotten about Izumi already? I knew the day would come, but not so soon," he spat, muttering the words.

Reo raised an eyebrow, speaking out before Yuka had the chance to. "Izumi? Who's that?" he concernedly asked with a frowned face.

Grandpa just gave a sneer in response. "So you haven't told him yet, I see."

Blushing at the name of her old husband's name, she flinched and her amber eyes began to wander. "Dad, please don't say that. I…I don't think this is the right time and place to be talking about Izumi so easily, he wouldn't want that anyway. Not in front of Reo, at least," she spoke quietly, as if she didn't want any to hear her words.

"I'm pretty sure Izumi wouldn't want you to be crazily drunk with a man you probably just met either!" he spoke, a lot louder this time. His nose flared, frustrated. "Yuka, I suggest getting this man out of my eyes if you don't want to be me to shout. You're not a kid anymore, you're close to thirty now and can take care of yourself but I have never been so angry with you like I am today."

An awkward silence filled the room. "But dad, I—" Yuka cried, her eyes trying to fight back the tears. She hadn't fought with her dad like that for months, _years_, not since she was a teenager.

"Yuka, I don't want to hear it. I really thought you were developing in to a fine woman and mother, you reacted so calmly after Izumi's death and now I see you like this. Just get him out the house, please," he almost begged, eyes trailing the floor and making his way up the staircase.

Mikan didn't know what happened after that or what Yuka had replied in return. She swiftly, but as quietly as possible, made her way in to her bedroom and climbed on to her bed without changing clothes. As closely as she could to her neck, Mikan yanked the covers closer to her and watched her grandpa softly open her door and walk nearer to her bed.

"Grandpa, who was that man?" Mikan questioned him, eyes disheartened. "Is he my new daddy?"

Her grandpa stiffened, crumpling his nose in hatred. "No, of course not, Mikan. He won't, and as long as I'm here, never will be. I'm pretty sure it's just another one of your mother's friends. Don't worry about it too much, just go to sleep." He stroked Mikan's head, tenderly giving her a kiss on her small forehead and watched her close her eyelids as soon as he walked away.

She was six at the age that he was introduced. For another four years, everything just went okay. As Mikan grew up, she found herself staying closer and closer to her grandpa or just busied herself with clubs her school offered so that she would avoid coming home as much as possible. She didn't like watching Reo and Yuka cuddle on the couch, it broke her heart to know that her mother had moved on so quickly from her father.

But her grandpa was right, as long as he was there, he would never be her new father. The only reason Reo hadn't thought about marrying Yuka before was because grandpa was in the way; he definitely wouldn't approve, no matter how old she was. That secure barrier he had fixed for Reo knocked over as soon as he died. There wasn't a particular reason for her grandpa's death—he had always been a healthy man, so it was just of old age but it definitely made Reo marrying Yuka a lot easier.

That's when Mikan's life crumbled down. At the same month of her grandfather's death, which even thinking about it made her stomach hurt, Reo proposed to Yuka. They quickly married the month soon after, with Mikan being their bridesmaid and it was the day the kid was absolutely was horrified to face so she pulled a smile for Yuka. Not for Reo, definitely not, but just for the sake of her mother being happy. No one saw through her fake smiles, not anyone at home or any of her friends at school.

Their honeymoon was a nightmare too. Mikan wasn't invited, nor was she sent to a relative's house, but on her own for two weeks—a ten-year old, all by herself for two ridiculously long weeks. She binged on junk foods, takeaways and anything cheap she could grab her hands on that didn't require particular cooking skills. She was a kid, of course she was never taught to cook. After that was finally over, they moved from Yuka's beautifully modern, cream-painted house that she had spent so long working to pay for to a run-down dump Reo had lived in. Well, Mikan liked to call it a dump. In actual fact, it was a tiny detached, shabby 'house' that had an unfriendly neighbourhood.

Surreptitiously, Mikan knew Yuka despised living there for the first couple of weeks. Her raised eyebrows and shocked facial expressions said it all, but she had no intention on disagreeing with Reo's plans.

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Mikan was only fourteen when Reo first hit her.

The bags under her eyes had grown over the couple of months as she began to sleep less than five hours every night. Not only was she forced to wait until late hours for the pair to come home, possibly around midnight or later, so she could finally be fed her dinner but it'd always result in them coming home as a drunken mess. Of course, she was fourteen and could cook her own meals, but they never had any ingredients to cook with so Yuka would normally come home with a takeaway for Mikan to devour with her hungry stomach.

That particularly night, she didn't.

"Mum?" Mikan called out in the hallway after hearing the door clicking open. "Reo?"

She quietly walked down the steps, her eyes darting around only to see her mother against a wall, sharing a kiss with Reo as she clung on to the collar of Reo's white blouse. Feeling slightly sick in her mouth, Mikan opened her mouth to speak but suddenly met eye contact with Yuka's, seeing her eyes shooting open in surprise.

"Mikan! It's—_hiccup_—my little Mikan!" she called out, her arms still wrapped around Reo's neck as they separated. Hurrying down the stairs, Mikan grabbed her two hands to divide them both apart. "How's my little baby? Shouldn't you—_hiccup_—be in bed?" Mikan swallowed the dry saliva in her throat vigorously, feeling Yuka's breath smell heavily of alcohol as it fanned against her face when she spoke.

"Did you get me anything to eat? I-I don't mean to moan unnecessarily, but I'm absolutely starving. I haven't eaten anything since ten in the morning," Mikan helplessly whined as she gripped her hand to her stomach desperately.

Yuka completely forgot about Reo's presence at the scene as she embraced Mikan in her arms, one hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I forgot—_hiccup_—to get you something to eat, I… I'm terribly sorry," she realised, eyes closed in disappointment. Mikan felt like punching herself in the chin for not going out earlier in the day to buy some food, but it was too late for that.

"O-Oh, okay, I guess I'll go back upstairs and get some sleep. Good—"

Yuka quickly clutched on to Mikan's hand, eyes watering with gloom. "I'm such a terrible mother! First I come home drunk—_hiccup_—and next, I don't buy you any food!" she sobbed, rubbing her eye aggressively with the rough material of her sleeve. Before Mikan could interrupt, she continued, "You know what, I'm going to go out right now and see if there's a twenty-four hour grocery store. I can get you some snacks, I know it won't be much but at least you would've eaten something."

Mikan's eyes softened, mouth stretching as it curved in to an appreciative smile. "I didn't mean to be a bother. I can come with you to carry the food," she commented before walking over to the door with Yuka to leave.

"We won't be long, Reo, I'll be back—" Yuka informed him as she followed Mikan, only to be interrupted.

He assertively grasped on to Yuka's arm, strengthening his force on it as she groaned in pain. "No," he stopped them. "No, Yuka, you're staying right here," Reo demanded, hand gesturing to his side. His frown lines appeared as his eyebrows arched with aggression.

"But Reo, Mikan is hungry and I—" she tried to reason with him but failed in doing so, as he just pulled her back to his side vigorously. "What's wrong, baby?" Yuka felt the grip on her hand tighten. This was the first time he had been so violent or forceful, she had already been married to him for four years and nothing had seemed to anger him in the way that something like that did. His eyes were burning with hatred.

"I don't give a shit!" He spat, looking directly at Mikan but turned his head so his eyes were facing Yuka. "Have you forgotten I'm your husband, Yuka? Are you always just going to fucking pay attention to her? Because that's all that I've seen, lately. Is this a one-sided love?" The seventeen-year old Mikan, if she could transport back in time, would punch him for using the word 'love'. He never had any feeling for Yuka; he had feelings for her money and all the alcohol he could buy with it. Reo shortened the distance between him and his wife, bringing them so close that she could feel his breath blowing against her face. "Fucking tell me now, is it?!"

"N-No, Reo! Of course not, what are you saying?" Yuka denied hesitantly, her body trembling. She had never seen Reo so worked up unnecessarily and to be perfectly frank, she began to grow afraid of him. His voice made her teeth chatter. She didn't know he could have a spiteful side; Yuka had been so naïve that she hadn't even tried to stomach the thought of him being a different man than she interpreted him to be.

Mikan tried backing away from him, but his eyes shot to her direction the instant her feet took a step to distance them apart. "And you—where the fuck do you think you're going? Don't you realise this is all your fault?" he said, spitting out his words like venom. The brunette paused in her tracks, heart almost pounding out of her chest as their gaze met. "This is your entire fault, you hear me?" Mikan felt panic overcoming her body as she opened her mouth to speak, but felt the words just refusing to slide off. "You have a damn tongue, so use the thing!"

"Y-Yes, I hear you," Mikan replied as she felt her senses alarmed, seeing him walk closer to her. She was right to be alarmed; he grabbed hold of her hair violently and jerked her hair, tilting her head sideways as she bit her lip in pain. "Stop, that hurts!" she cried, her mouth becoming abruptly dry as he continued to yank at her scalp aggressively.

"Reo, she's starving! Just let her go out and get some damn food!" Yuka growled while trying to grab hold of her husband's arm to pull him away.

As Reo shook her off, Yuka stood in awe as she was forced to grasp at the disgusting thought that her own husband was hurting her_ child_. It didn't take much time for the realisation to sink in as Reo said, "I don't give a flying crap if she starves, or even better,_ let_ her!"

"What is wrong with you? Are you mad?" Mikan managed to spit at him, though the words came out slowly. In amusement, Reo just looked at her like _she _was the crazy one as he burst in to fits of laughter while watching her pained face scowl furiously. "Stop laughing!" He didn't. He just carried on, cackling scornfully with his hand still at full grip against the ends of her hair. While using one hand, Reo wiped a tear from his eye because of his continual laughter.

His face suddenly stiffened, nose crumpling. "If anyone's mad, it's_ you_."

Mikan was in too much pain to take a moment to realise what he was actually saying but at the same time, she hardly cared. She thought it'd all be over soon, like a fairytale or that it'd be as if she had just awoken from a terrifying nightmare, but it never did. Everyday just dragged on, like seven years worth of living in hell.

.

The brunette slowly wriggled around in her bed, feeling her body being shaken by hands. She fluttered an eyelid open, waking up to amber eyes. Her mother stood in front of her as she briskly shook Mikan to awaken her from her sleep. "Mikan! It's about Reo—" she whispered in her ear, watching Mikan eyes shoot open in attention. "He's not here. He hasn't arrived since yesterday, this is your chance to get moving."

Mikan whimpered dreadfully as the sudden memories of yesterday came rushing back to her. In all honesty, as much as she wanted to get away from Reo, she didn't want to do it by running away—all by herself, too. She couldn't understand why Yuka refused to come with her from the beginning, but chose to join her after a few days of distracting Reo instead.

The plan was to quickly get away when Reo had gone out, making this the perfect opportunity, and an hour after her disappearance, Yuka would call up her husband to notify Mikan's escape to distract the blame off her for that moment. While Reo would be looking up and down Japan for the brunette, Yuka would take that time to make her escape as well as they would both head over to Mikan's uncle in north Tokyo, Kazumi.

Brushing out her tousled locks in front of the bedroom mirror, Mikan tugged at her knots as she watched Yuka quickly pack her school rucksack with essentials. After a while of getting ready, Mikan noticed what a mess her room looked like—t-shirts, jeans, leggings, blouses and underwear were all sprawled out across the floor with the fully equipped rucksack right at the center of it all. It definitely contained more than she needed with her toiletries, clothes, underwear, food and drinks, plus an envelope of money all packed inside.

Mikan just ogled at the rucksack in disbelief; since when did that bag be big enough to carry so much?

"I put the money on the outer pocket plus an emergency cell phone that you should only use if it's extremely necessary. The things in there will last you a week if use them all generously, particularly the food so find a place to stay after you get off the train because it's a long way to Kazumi's. There's his address on a piece a paper there too. It shouldn't take you any longer than two days to get there, if you quickly book a hotel after getting to the center of Tokyo."

Yuka paused as she felt her eyes sting with the sudden waterfall of tears. Pulling Mikan in a wide embrace, the young brunette almost felt time stop as the two just stood there in a hug with Yuka's quivering body cuddling Mikan's. "I can't believe you're going through with this; you've grown up to be such an independent girl," Yuka choked out. "I'm so proud to call you my daughter, Mikan."

Mikan didn't say anything. She couldn't. The brunette was forced to hold back her tears, biting the insides of her mouth in pain as she stood completely frozen in that moment of time. Yuka's body felt so small and underfed, almost smaller than her own body.

When the two eventually parted, Mikan dragged her rucksack down the staircase with her as Yuka trailed along. Mikan stood by the door in awe, comprehending that she was_ actually_ going to run away by _herself_. No one to take care of her. Giving Yuka a final hug, she inhaled her sweet, vanilla scent for the last time before throwing the bag over her shoulder and quietly walking in the distance. It took her everything she had not to look back at her mother's sobbing face.

While sucking in her lower lip with anxiety, Mikan constantly turned her head left and right in search of Reo. She had to admit that she was being a bit paranoid, but it didn't hurt to look. After no sighting of him, Mikan felt her mouth go dry as she felt herself getting closer to the train station. Unsurprisingly, she hadn't ever taken the train before; Mikan often walked to school, and if she was to go out in the weekends, Reo dropped her off in his car to make sure she wasn't up to anything suspicious. The tantalizing thought of experiencing something new made Mikan's heart pound, even if it was just something small like using a train for the first time.

Mikan eyed her cell phone to look for the time, which read 8:39; she hadn't realised it had taken so long just to fill her backpack and get ready, though it definitely did show as the brunette felt the rucksack dreadfully weighing her down.

Finally seeing the train station in sight, Mikan felt anxious at the view in front of her. She didn't stop to think about how busy it would all be, as men and women all rushed in and out of the place with hurry. The queues for receiving a ticket were horribly long, as well. Adults were all that Mikan saw as they all speedily walked left and right to presumably, their workplace. The young brunette did get a few odd stares, people mentally questioning themselves to why she wasn't in school. Mikan shrugged them all off as she received her bullet train ticket, staring at it in awe.

Mikan felt a vibration in her pocket. Digging out her hands out from her pocket, Mikan felt her cell phone buzzing a final time in her hands as the screen wrote, '_Incoming message_.' She gasped, flipping the phone immediately.

**_From: Mum_**

**_Message:_**

_Good luck. I know you can do this._

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**A/N:** Yay for longer chapters! Woohoo! :D

I apologize if I got the information for Japanese train stations wrong, as I haven't actually visited Japan so you are all free to correct me (as it would actually be a great help if I did get it wrong, ahaha).

So I'd be super grateful if you readers reviewed, it would definitely mean a lot to me and I'd be sure to update faster and perhaps, if you guys want, make chapters longer than this as well. If you do, it's very much appreciated but I still respect all you silent readers out there. c:

The next few upcoming chapters will be where more characters will be getting involved, things will start getting a bit more hectic as well.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!


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